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Publication Scheme

About this publication scheme

Under section 19(1) of the Freedom of Information Act every public authority is required to adopt and maintain a publication scheme setting out the classes of information it holds, the manner in which it intends to publish the information and whether or not a charge will be made for the information.

The Information Commissioner, who is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, has drawn up a Model Publication Scheme and a Definition Document for all public sector organisations. The Department has formally adopted the Information Commissioner’s model publication scheme. The scheme is organised into seven classes of information which are set out below. This structure aims to save you time and effort when searching for information.

You can also use our Publications search which contains all the documents we have made available.

Information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Therefore information you receive which is not subject to Crown copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. You must ensure that you gain their permission before reproducing any third party (non-Crown copyright) information.